Our Story

Pennsylvania United is a grassroots organization with member-led chapters that build power for working-class families in Western PA. We come to this work because both political parties have failed to address the critical needs of communities of color and white working-class families, in both rural and urban areas. Politicians and corporations try to divide us by race and geography, and for many decades have been succeeding. We believe the only way to combat this division is to rebuild progressive organizing infrastructure in the communities that have experienced historic disinvestment from both economic opportunities and organizing resources. We work every day to develop long-term organizing relationships that reconnect working-class people to power, and to build a multi-racial working-class movement for statewide change.

Pennsylvania United believes that we can achieve more by coming together, whether that’s in our individual communities or across Western PA. We also believe that people in their own communities know what they need and are positioned best to know what will move people to action. Because of these values, our local chapters drive most of our work and set the agenda for the campaigns we take on collectively. Over the past three years, our local chapters passed legislation banning the box on job applications for county jobs in Beaver, shifted the political narrative in Erie around equitable development to center the needs of working-class families and communities of color, and ran a member drive with the Voice of Westmoreland–an all-volunteer grassroots group–to build a chapter of over 200 dues-paying members and self-fund a full-time organizer.

Our members in Erie also recruited and ran a slate of three young, progressive candidates of color resulting in the first progressive champion elected to Erie City Council!

Our members and staff are ready to go all in to win issue campaigns, win elections, and build power for working class people all over Pennsylvania. Join Us.